Tuesday, November 06, 2012

Back in August 2011, before Hurricane Irene hit New York City, I pointed out that the Coastal
Evacuation Route out of Carroll Gardens led local residents along Third Street, over the Third Street Bridge and across the Gowanus Canal.

In other words, Carroll Gardeners and Gowanus residents who were under mandatory evacuation orders and needed to head towards John Jay High School on 7th Avenue, the closest shelter, had to drive through a low-lying Zone A area that floods every time there is a heavy rain.

Predictably, during Irene, the Evacuation Route flooded.

After reading my post, our elected officials took note and alerted NYC's Office Of Emergency Management (OEM) of this problem. State Senator Daniel Squadron, Assemblywoman Joan Millman, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, and Councilman Brad Lander, in a letter to OEM, wrote:

"As indicated by the signs posted in the area, the "Coastal Evacuation Route" (CER) is via the Zone A area of Third Street, over the Gowanus Canal. This is problematic because the low-lying streets surrounding the Gowanus Canal are prone to flooding, even during moderate rain storms.Our top priority is getting people out of harm’s way as safely and efficiently as possible. To that end, we are writing to request that your office reevaluate the evacuation route for this area and provide information as to possible alternative routes.We look forward to hearing from you and please let us know if we can be helpful in resolving this matter of concern to our constituents."

Unfortunately, nothing was ever done to remedy the situation. So, when Hurricane Sandy hit New York City last week, local residents were still expected to drive through a flood zone and over the Gowanus Canal, an EPA Superfund site.

Just take a look at the flooding at Third Street at the intersection of Bond Street during this last storm.

(photo credit: Triade Samaras)

Carroll Gardens/ Gowanus Coastal Evacuation Route under water

View of Third Street at Bond Street during Hurricane Sandy

As far as finding alternate routes, that may be a difficult task. Most of the local roads leading out of the neighborhood are congested on a regular day. In the case of a stronger hurricane with evacuation of Flood Zones A and B, traffic would probably come to a stand still. Add to this the fact that traffic will increase along that stretch of Third Street once the Gowanus Whole Foods will open next year, it may become impossible to get to higher ground.

What a big mess! It illustrates that the City really doesn't understand flood zones like the Gowanus area, doesn't take the consequences of building more housing in those zones into account and really doesn't care about keeping residents safe once there is flooding.

You're foolish to assume that just because YOU haven't heard anything about the opposition to the homeless shelter we are not actively pursuing the issue. I can assure you that nothing could be further from the truth. And I can also assure you that none of us feel like we have egg on our faces. Your misreading of the situation is comical.

You are clearly not making the right choices. The city needs more shelters. It needs better shelters. And maybe it needs less people who only think about themselves and their own petty self-interest. Your heartlessness is what is comical. As well as the lack of vision. If you were at all aware of the crisis, you would try to get involved rather than continue to pursue the obstruction of helping those in need. The hurricanes the homeless have had to endure are called Hurricane Bloomberg, Hurricane Giuliani, and Hurricane Gentrification. (And dont' forget Hurricane Not In My Back Yard and the sequel, Hurricane My Kid & My Smartphone Are Honor Students.)